Simple Science Experiments

[RRMummy]

Rubber Eggs and Knotting a Bone!!


“A mad scientist can do much more with an egg than just eat it!”-Yasuhide Fumoto. A Mad Scientist can make a toy out of just about anything, including a boiled egg!

Children will be shown the Rubbery Egg and Knotted Bones which are prepared in advance. They will be told that these were made by soaking an egg in a common kitchen ingredient, vinegar, to dissolve its shell and make the egg rubbery enough that you can bounce it on the floor like a ball!

MATERIALS
•\tHard-boiled eggs
•\t1 raw egg
•\tThin chicken bones
•\tglass or jar, big enough to hold the egg
•\tvinegar

METHOD
1.\tPlace the egg in the glass or jar.
2.\tAdd enough vinegar to completely cover the egg.
3.\tWatch the egg. What do you see? Little bubbles may come off the egg as the acetic acid in the vinegar attacks the calcium carbonate of the eggshell. Over time the color of the eggs may change as well.
4.\tAfter 1 day, remove the egg and gently rinse the shell off of the egg with tap water.
5.\tAfter 3 – 4 days, how does the boiled egg feel? Try bouncing the egg on a hard surface. How high can you bounce your egg?
6.\tSoak raw eggs in vinegar for 1 day and compare the results. The eggs shell will become soft and flexible. You can gently squeeze these eggs, but it's not a great plan to try to bounce them on the floor.
7.\tImmerse the softened raw egg in water and observe. It'll absorb and expand via osmosis until the shell finally bursts.
8.\tSoak the thin bones in vinegar and observe the next day.

HOW IT WORKS?
Eggs contain something called \"calcium carbonate\". This is what makes them hard. Vinegar is an acid known as acetic acid. When calcium carbonate (the egg) and acetic acid (the vinegar) combine, a chemical reaction takes place and carbon dioxide (a gas) is released. This is what the bubbles are made of.
The chemical reaction keeps happening until all of the carbon in the egg is used up -- it takes about a day. When you take the egg out of the vinegar it's soft because all of the carbon floated out of the egg in those little bubbles.
Leave the same egg sitting out on the table for another day. Now feel it again. It's hard! The calcium left in the egg shell stole the carbon back from the carbon dioxide that's in the air we breathe.
What makes our bones hard? That's right! Calcium carbonate -- the same thing that made the egg shells hard. Take some thin chicken bones and drop them in vinegar for a day. Soaking chicken bones in vinegar will soften them so that they will become rubbery and flexible. Take them out and they'll be soft just like the egg shells were. Now you can tie them in a knot, just like a piece of string. Leave them sitting out on the table and they'll get hard again!
Encourage children to bring home their specimen to stump mom and dad!

EXTRA EGG FACTS

Q:\tWhat chemical reaction causes an egg to become hard-boiled?
A:\tThe chemical reaction is caused by the conflict of the sulphur from the yolk and the chemicals in the albumen in the white. This is why hard-boiled eggs get that very unappetizing green ring between the white and yolk.

[RRMummy]

HOMEMADE LAVA-SPEWING VOLCANO


MATERIALS
•\tEmpty 2-liter bottle /jar
•\tSalt dough or soil
•\tTray
•\tBaking soda
•\tLiquid dish soap
•\tWhite vinegar
•\tRed food coloring

METHOD
1.\tUse a large tray to make the base, to prevent the lava from staining surfaces during eruptions.
2.\tUse salt dough or soil to form a mountain around an empty 2-liter bottle placed upright at the center of the tray. Be sure to leave the lid off.
3.\tForm the model volcano's open top tightly around the mouth of the bottle.
4.\tMix 1 tbsp. liquid dish washing soap, 1 tbsp. baking soda and a few drops of red food coloring in a cup.
5.\tPour the mixture carefully into the bottle.
6.\tSet the volcano in an open area, preferably outside.
7.\tPour 1/4 c. white vinegar into the bottle and stand back to watch their volcano erupt!

p/s can also skip step 1-3.

The chemical reaction

NaHCO3 + CH3COOH --> Na+ + H2O + CO2 + CH3COO-
Carbon dioxide is released creating the fizz.
(Also actually released from Volcanos)

I would like the children to enter this virtual simulation website together to create and explore their own volcanic eruptions by varying the conditions (viscosity and gas) of a volcano.
http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html

For additional information, this very informative website will be provided to children for exploring the topic – VOLCANO at their own time.
http://www.volcanolive.com/index.html

[RRMummy]

Enjoy!! When I have time I load up some more of my collections.. stay tuned..

[kaydenbrown]

buds:

A tad?


A lot lah...
Especially the much
later episodes. :roll:
Some are funny too.

Oh really..haha.. i thought kids here would learn a lot from it.

[Gund]

Hi All


With regards to the experiment on surface tension of water, might be good to teach your child to apply that concept instead of just learning it. In Science exam nowadays, application of concepts is v important.

For e.g., how does spraying insecticide on water kill the mosquito larva and pupa? It's a common misconception among kids that the breathing tubes are blocked so the larva and pupa died because they cannot take in air, but in actual fact, it's because insecticide lowers the surface tension and cause the larva and pupa to drown.
Plus you can also introduce the idea of how some insects seem to be able to float or walk on water surface like the water skater. Hope this information is helpful to you.

[krazy]

Thanks for the ideas! i will try out some of them during the hols!


Some months ago, I did some simple experiments with my girl too. of course, the classic volcano, crystal formation and density.

Growing crystals
http://preciouscheryl.blogspot.com/2009/10/growing-crystals.html

Density
http://preciouscheryl.blogspot.com/2009/10/does-egg-float.html

Volcano
http://preciouscheryl.blogspot.com/2009/09/volcano.html

[Fongg]

Sounded really cool.

Since its holiday, I will give it a try with my kids.

Thanks for the info

[notknow11]

Any1 know where we can find books on simple science experiments for kids age 7-10? Thanks.

[sharonkhoo]

notknow11:

Any1 know where we can find books on simple science experiments for kids age 7-10? Thanks.

Libraries should have some in the kids' non-fiction section. Or you can google for ideas. Science textbooks also have a few you can get started on.